Automatic safety device for elevators.



P. HINKEL. I I AUTOMATIC SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION IILED DEG.26, 1911.

Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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- wlmssszs iNVENTOR P. HINKEL. AUTOMATIC SAFETY DEVICE FOR BLEVATOR.APPLICATION FILED 1130.26, 1911.

1,043,833, Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

2 SHEETS'SHEET 2.

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bwrrnn STATES! rarnnr orrrcn.

PETER HINKEL, OF ASHLAND, KENTUCKY.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATORS.

Application filed December 26, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER HINKEL, a resident of Ashland, in the countyof Boyd and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Automatic Safety Devices for Elevators, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in elevators.

The object of the invention is to provide a safety construction for suchdevices which will be certain and secure in operation and in which theelevator or car will be prevented from falling or dropping in or alongits guides should the rope or cable break and in which the speed ofdescent of the elevator or car will be automatically checked should itbecome too rapid.

A further object of the invention is to provide gripping jaws forfrictionally hearing against or grasping the guideways or tracks inwhich the elevator car slides and which, if the guides used are of wood,or other compressible material, will grip the same in such manner as toprevent them from springing out from between the gripping jaws.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front view of a skeleton frame forsupporting an elevator or car, as arranged according to my invention,certain parts being broken out to show details; Fig. 2 is an end. viewof the frame work of the car, viewed from the left in Fig. 1 and as thesame appears while supported by a cable; Fig. 3 is a view similar toFig. 2, showing the gripping members in the position of grasping theguide-way; F i 4 is a cross sectional View on the line 44, Fig. 1,showing the spring atone end of the car frame; Fig. 5 is a crosssectional view on the line 55, Fig. 1, showing certain bell cranklevers, the parts being illustrated during support of the car by acable; Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 showing the positionassumedby the bell crank levers upon breaking of the support-Speoification of Letters Patent.

Fig. 1.

Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

Serial No. 667,906.

ing cable, and Fig. 7 is a detail view of a modified form of theinvention.

I have illustrated in the drawings a frame work 1 sliding in or alongvertical guideways or rails 2. No car has been illustrated in positionin the supporting frame 1 but it will, of course, be understood that thelower horizontal beam 3 of the frame work will support the car, whichmay be of the usual or any preferred construction and shape and securedto the frame in any desired manner. The guideways 2 along which the carframe 1 slides, may be of any desired shape in cross section,rectangular guides being shown, and are firmly supported in the buildingor structure in which the elevator is used. The rails 2 are embraced bythe projecting arms of lugs or projections 1 rigidly mounted at the endsof the frame 1 upon the vertical end members 5 thereof. The car framecomprises bottom horizontal member 3, vertical end members 5 and ahorizontal top beam or member 6, the top member 6 being best illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2 taken together. As shown, it comprises a pair ofchannel members 7 formed of ordinary commercial iron, spaced apart andriveted or bolted at their ends to the flanges of the vertical endmembers 5 of the frame. The end members 5 are likewise constructed ofordinary channel irons, and the lugs or projections 4 are riveted,welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the web of the channel betweenits flanges, as shown in The webs of the spaced channel. members 7 ofthe top member 6 are riveted directly to the flanges of the vertical endmembers 5.

Mounted above the spaced channel members 7 of the top beam 6 is anoperating beam or bar 8, illustrated as comprising an ordinary I-beam,and extending from end to end of the car frame. Firmly riveted orotherwise secured to the lower flange 9 at each end of the operatingbeam 8 are suitable cup shaped spring boxes 10, preferably formed ofpressed steel, but which may be solid and of cast metal if desired.These spring boxes 10 form caps within which the upper ends of springs11 rest, which springs are of ordinary spiral form and are seated attheir lower ends in pressed steel caps or boxes 12, similar to the caps10 and supported upon bases 13. The bases 13, shown, are formed ofsuitable short sections of ordinary channel iron, having upper fiatfaces and flanges 14 of which are securely bolted to the inner surfacesof oppositely disposed triangular gussets or corner plates 15. Asillustrated in Fig. 1, the gussets or corner members 15 are riveted atone edge to the flanges of the vertical end members 5 of the frame andare also secured to the inner surfaces of the members 7. At each end ofthe operating beam 8 an oblong or oval shaped end block 16 is provided,firmly secured to the beam 8 and forming a supporting member for shaft17. Four such shafts are provided, two at each end of 5 upper portion ofthe frame are a pair of jbell crank levers 32 to the upper ends of thesupporting beam on opposite sides thereof. The shafts 17, as shown, aremounted in filling blocks 18 secured at each side of the operating beam8 and between the flanges thereof. Outstanding lugs orv projections 19are provided on the filling blocks 18 for supporting one end and theintermediate portion of each of the shafts 17 These outstanding lugs orprojections are preferably integral with the filling members. but ifdesired may be separate parts rigidly attached thereto and the end lugs19 are securely attached to and form supports for the end blocks 16. Asillustrated in Figs. 1 and 4, the filling members or supporting blocks18, on opposite sides of the beam 8 at each end thereof, are securedtogether and to the beam by bolts 20 passing through the blocks 18 andbeam 8. Ordinary nuts are provided on the bolts for easy assembling anddisassembling of the parts. The shafts 17 are of slightly smallerdiameter at their outer ends than at their inner ends, providing ashoulder 22 bearing against the inner face of the end projections 19 toprevent endwise movement of the shaft 17 outwardly through the blocks 16under conditions of use.

Upon the outer ends of the shafts 17 are mounted gripping members 23,shown in end view in Figs. 2 and 3, and which are provided at theirinner ends with eccen tric gripping portions or arms 24c project ingdownwardly below the level of the shafts 17. The grippers 23 areprovided with flat faces on their eccentric portions or arms 24, whichbear against the opposite faces of each of the rails or tracks 2 upon oralong which the car and its frame slide. The levers 23 are rotatablenoon the shafts 17 and are held thereon by set screws or pins 25 mountedin apertures in the upper faces of the levers and having inwardlyprojecting ends 26 each engaging with an annular groove 27 in its shaft17 The outer ends of the levers 23 are slotted to engage and span theupper ends of arms 28, pivot pins 29 being provided projecting throughthe upper ends of the arms 28 and outer slotted ends of levers'23. Thepins 29 are preferably provided with countersunk heads on their innerends and cotter pins 30 attheir outer ends for convenience of assemblingand disassembling. The levers or links 28 are each mounted upon an endof one of the channel members of top beam 6, to the ends of which aresecurely riveted filling blocks 31 carrying integral projecting stubshafts 31*- at their ends upon which the levers 28 are pivoted. Cotter fprovided in the shafts for holding the levers i 28 thereon.

pins 28 are Secured to the opposed members of the which are connectedclevises 33, to which are lcoupled the end links of a chain 34, to theupper link 35 of which is secured the rope,

. cable or other supporting means 13 for the elevator. 15, the levers 32are each formed with one long leg 36 and a short leg 37 and are eachmounted between a pair of oppositely disposed supporting members 39 uponpivot l pins 38 projecting therethrough. The members 39, as shown, areformed of Z-bars ;having outwardly projecting flanges 10, the lowerportions of which are cut away so 3 that the ends of flanges 40 restdirectly upon {the upper flanges of the oppositely disposed jchannelmembers of the top beam 6. These ,outer flanges 40 provide supports forthe pins 38 upon which the bell cranks 32 are :pivoted, as shown inFig. 1. flanges 40 of the Z-bars or supporting memfbers 39 projectdownwardly between the fchannel members 7 of the main beam 6, and alsoupwardly to the limitof movement of the operating beam 8, as shown inFig.

As shown most clearly in Fig.

The inner and the inner edges thereof are spaced apart to form guidesfor the operating beam 8 during the course of its movement ashereinafter described.

Mounted upon the upper faces of the flanges of oppositely disposedchannel members 7, near the ends thereof, are additional supports andguides 41, shown in Fig. 4, .which are slotted at their central portionsand provide inner edges 42 which engage with the edges of the lowerflange of the operating beam 8 and assist in guiding the same. Asillustrated in Fig. 5, the inner ends of the lower arms 37 of the bellcranks 32 engage with and normally rest upon the upper faces of thelower flange of the operating I-beam 8.

It is believed thatthe operation of my improved safety stop mechanismwill be obvious from the accompanying drawings and the foregoingdescription of the same. Assuming the elevator to be at rest undernormal conditions, the frame and car are supported from the cable orrope 43 which engages with the upper link 35 of the chain, and the bellcranks 32 are in the posit-ion illustrated in Fig. 5 with their longlegs 36 vertically and their short legs 37 horizon tally disposed. Theengagement of the in ner ends of the short legs 37 with the operatingbeam 8, presses the latter down against the springs 11 between itsguides 39 and 41 to the position shown in Fig. 5. .Tn this position ofthe parts, the springs 11 are compressed between their upper and lowercaps 10 and 12 and the levers 23 and 28 assume the position illustratedin Fig- 2, thus rotating as it were, the upper levers 23 about theirshafts 17 as pivots. The rotation of the levers 23 causes the fiatgripping faces of the eccentric portions 24 of the levers to be movedaway from engagement with the tracks or guides 2 with which the frame engages and the elevator car is free to move up or down. In this conditionof the parts, the car may be moved up or down along its guideways in theshaft as long as the tension upon the rope or supporting cable 43 keepsthe latter taut. If the rope or support-ing cable 43 breaks, however,the springs 11 immediately begin to push upwardly upon the upper bearingcaps 10 mounted upon the lower face of the operating beam 8, thuscausing the latter to rise away from the beam 6 between its supports andguides 41 and 39. This movement of the beam 8 causes the shafts 17 torise with respect to the supporting stub shafts 31 and the levers 23 and28 begin to assume the p0 sition illustrated in Fig. 3. As the levers 23rotate about the shafts 17, the flat faces on the eccentric portions 24of the levers begin to engage with and press upon the guideways or rails2 and, there being a pair of these eccentric portions 24 at oppositesides of each guide rail, the latter are each frictionally grippedbetween the eccentrics 24. It is obvious that the amount of frictionbetween the faces of eccentrics 24 and the rails 2 will increasedirectly as the pull or tension upon the rope or supporting cable 43decreases. Under extreme conditions, should the rope or supporting cable43 break or be severed entirely, the eccentric portions 24 of the levers23 are moved inwardly to grasp the guides and the friction between themand the guides 2 increases to such an extent that the car and frame aresupported entirely between them. Should such an accident as thatdescribed occur the levers 23 and 28 immediately assume the positionsindicated in Fig. 3, by reason of the action of springs 11, and the caris firmly and rigidly held stationary in its guides. As will be obvious,the greater the weight of the car, the greater is the leverage which isimposed upon the friction faces 24 and the clamping force exertedthereby.

I may use the construction described in connection with guide railsformed of either wood or metal. Metallic guide rails are preferred, butin some instances wooden guide rails are advisable. Under such conditions, I prefer to form the faces of the eccentric gripping portions24 with grooves and ribs therein after the manner shown in Fig. 7, whichillustrates a face view of the grip-ping levers at opposite ends of thecar, the guide rails 2 indicated diagrammatically in that view, being infront of the grippers. These grooves are slightly inclined to thehorizontal and in cross section are the configuration ofordinarycorrugated sheet iron and arranged in such manner that no sharp edgesexist to mar or injure the sub stance of the rails. The grooves and ribs46 on the faces of eccentrics 24 are inclined downwardly from a pointopposite that portion of the rail nearest to the car to a point oppositethat portion of the rail farthest from the car, or away from the car, insuch direction that the tendency of the ribbed faces of the grippingportions 24 is to draw the rails inwardly toward the car as theeccentrics grip the rails, as shown in Fig. '7. Otherwise theconstruction is the same as that illustrated in Fig. 1. This arrangementis novel with me and obviously prevents the possibility of the railsspringing apart or moving outwardly endwise from between the grippers orfriction holding members.

It will be noted that in the construction hereinbefore described andillustrated in the drawings, I have provided an improved safetyarrangement for elevators in which the operating mechanism is compact,strong and secure. The shafts at the ends of the device, which supportthe operating levers, links and eccentrics, are seated upon the ends ofthe operating beam and are of considerable length, having a firm bearingin the beam, and the levers or eccentrics are mounted upon the ends ofthe shafts. The set screws 25, cotter pins 30 and 28 permit easy removalof the levers 23 and 28 endwise from their shafts when it is desired tore pair or replace the same. Likewise, the filling blocks or plates 18may be removed bodily with the shafts 17 from the beam 8 by removal ofthe bolts 20. By locating the gripping levers 23 upon the ends of theshafts, it is possible to provide wide gripping surfaces on the leversfor contact with the guides or rails 2 upon the shaft frame. Theseguides and the gripping levers may be made as wide as desired and aproper amount of friction produced for securing support of the car uponaccident to the normal supporting cable thereof.

The device as constructed is also conveniently assembled. For example,the springs 11 are assembled from beneath the beam 8. They are pushedupwardly into their top seats or boxes 10 and after compression, theplatforms or supports 13 are pushed upwardly underneath the springs andthen bolted to the gussets or corner brackets 15. The entireconstruction as illustrated is made up mainly of segments or pieces ofordinary commercial iron which may be had in any size or shape desired.The bottom beam 3 and end members 5 are all formed of ordinary channelirons, as are likewise the members 7 of the top beam 6. The operatingbeam 8 is a section of an I-beam. As hereinabove stated, the supports 39are formed of short sections of Z-bars cut to shape to rest upon thechannels of the top beam and the supports 13 are formed of shortsections of the same type as those used for the end members 5. Thelevers 32 which support the car are pivotally mounted close to the uppersurface of the top beam 6 and, being formed as bell cranks with shortand long legs, are enabled to impose considerable leverage upon theoperating beam 8, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The construction describedis such that the parts of the operating mechanism, including the bellcranks, are brought close to the top beam 6 and occupy very little spacevertically or longitudinally of the elevator shaft over and above whatis necessary for the support of an ordinary elevator car and frame. Theentire frame is securely riveted and bolted together and is practicallyrigid or integral under normal conditions of use, when the bell cranks32 occupy the posi tion shown in Fig. 5 and the operating bar 8 ispressed downwardly close to the beam 6 and the eccentrics 24 are openedor released from the guides or rails 2.

\Vhat I claim is 1. The combination with a car frame and guide railstherefor, of a horizontal bar mounted on the frame and arranged to havelimited vertical movement relative thereto, said bar having oppositelydisposed flanges, levers mounted upon the frame for engaging saidflanges, means connected to said levers for supporting the car, springsengaging said bar, and gripping levers on the bar and connected to theframe and arranged for engagement with the guide rails.

2. The combination with a car frame and guide rails therefor, of anoperating bar movably mounted on said frame, levers fulcrumed in theframe at the sides of the bar and arranged to swing in a planetransverse to the length thereof and each having an inwardly projectingleg engaging said operating bar, means eomiected to the opposite ends ofsaid levers for supporting the car frame, springs engaging said bar, andgripping levers on the bar and connected to the frame and arranged forengagementwith the guide rails.

3. The combination with a car frame and guide rails therefor, of anoperating bar movably mounted on said frame and provided with oppositeflanges, levers mounted upon the frame at the sides of the bar and eachhaving an inwardly projecting leg engaging a flange of said bar, meansconnected to the opposite ends of said levers for supporting the carframe, springs engaging said bar, and gripping levers on the bar and connected to the frame and arranged for engagement with the guide rails.

4. The combination of a frame comprising members spaced apart and guiderails therefor, of an operating bar movably mounted in the frame, leversmounted in said frame and engaging said bar, means connected to saidlevers for supporting the car frame, said frame being provided withcorner gus sets, channel sections secured between said gussets andspiral springs mounted upon said channel sectlons and between the.spaced members of said frame and engaging the underside of said bar formoving the same.

The combination with a car frame and guide rails therefor, said carframe having a beam comprising channels spaced apart, of a pair ofZ-bars connected to each channel and having inturned guiding flanges, anoperating bar mounted for movement with respect to said beam and guidedbetween said Z-bar flanges, levers pivot-ally mounted in said Z-bars andarranged to engage said operating bar, means connected to said le- Versfor supporting said car frame, springs for moving said bar, and grippersmounted thereon arranged to engage the guide rails upon movement of theoperating bar.

6. The combination with a car frame and guide rails therefor, said carframe having a beam comprising spaced channels, of an op erating barcomprising an I-beam mounted for movement with reference to said-beam,levers pivotally mounted upon said beam and having short legs arrangedto engage the lower flanges of said bar, shafts mounted on the ends ofsaid channels, links supported upon said shafts,-other shafts mounted atthe ends of the operating bar and projecting endwise therefrom, grippinglevers pivotally mounted upon said latter shafts and connected to saidlinks, said grippers being arranged to engage said guide rails forsupporting the car.

7. The combination with a car frame and guide rails therefor, said carframe having a beam comprising spaced channels, of an operating barcomprising an I-beam mounted for movement With reference to said beam,levers pivotally mounted upon said beam and having short legs arrangedto engage the lower flanges on said bar, shafts mounted at the ends ofsaid channels, links supported upon said shafts, other shafts mounted atthe ends of the operating bar and projecting endwise therefrom, grippinglevers mounted upon said latter shafts and connected to said links, saidgrippers being arranged to engage said guide rails for supporting thecar, and springs arranged to move said bar against the action of saidlevers, upon breaking of the supporting cable.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set inyhand.

PETER HINKEL. Witnesses:

"W. R. VANSANT, N. A. HoLMEs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

